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THE PASSION AND CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST

AND THE SEVEN LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSS

By

St. ALPHONSUS de LIGUORI

Selections fromThe Passion and the Death

of Jesus Christ

Translated from the Italian Edited by

Rev. Eugene Grimm, C.Ss.R. New York, Benziger Brothers

1887

Further edited and language modernized by Br. Sean, a choir monk, 2009

from an etext at archive.org

CONTENTS (page numbers as in book)

Chapter

I. The Scourging 256

II. The Crowning with Thorns 258



III. Jesus Carries His Cross 260

IV. The Crucifixion 263

V. Jesus upon the cross 267

VI. The insults offered to Jesus Christ while he was hanging upon

the cross 271

1. Agony of Jesus on the cross 271

2. "If you be the Son of God, come down from the cross." 274

3. "He saved others, himself he cannot save." 275

4. "If God loves him, let him deliver him now." 276

VII. The seven words spoken by Jesus Christ on the cross 279

1. "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." 279

2. "I say to you, this day you shall be with me in paradise." 281

3. "Woman, behold your son. . . Behold your mother." 284

4. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 290

5. "I thirst." 2956. "It is finished." 296.

7. "Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit." 298

I. The Scourging

St. Paul writes respecting Jesus Christ : He emptied

Himself, taking the form of a servant.1 On this text St.

Bernard remarks, "He took not only the form of a ser-

vant, that he might obey, but that of a slave, that he

might be beaten."2 Our Redeemer, who is the Lord of

all, was willing not only to take upon him the condition

of a servant, but even that of a bad servant, that he might

be punished as a criminal, and thus make satisfaction

for our sins.

It is certain that the scourging was the most cruel of the

tortures that shortened the life of our Redeemer; for the

great effusion of blood (already foretold by him, when hesaid, This is My blood of the New Testament, which shall

1 "Semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens." - Phil. 2.7.

2 "Non solum formam servi accepit, ut subesset, sed etiam mali

servi, ut vapularet." - Serm. de Pass. Dom.



[257] be shed for many,1 was the principal cause of his

death. It is true that this blood was first poured forth in the

garden, and was also poured forth in the crowning with

thorns, and by the driving-in of the nails; but the larg-

est portion was shed in the scourging, which was also a

cause of great shame and insult to Jesus Christ, because

this was a punishment inflicted only on slaves. On this

account, also, the tyrants who condemned the holy

martyrs to death scourged them after their condemna-

tion, and then slew them; while our Lord was scourged

before he was condemned to death. He had himself

particularly predicted the scourging to his disciples dur-

ing his life : He shall be given up to the Gentiles, and

mocked and scourged.2 Thus he signified to them the

great anguish which this torture would inflict upon him.

It was revealed to St. Bridget that one of the execu-

tioners first commanded Jesus Christ to strip himself of

his garments. He obeyed, and then embraced the pillar

to which he was bound, and was then so cruelly scourged

that his whole body was lacerated.3 The revelation

stated that the scourges not only struck him, but ploughed

into his most holy flesh. He was so torn open that, as

the same revelation declares, his ribs appeared laid bare.4

With this agrees what was written by St. Jerome: "The

scourges cut the most holy body of God,"5 and also what

St. Peter Damian wrote, that the executioners exhausted

themselves with fatigue 6 in scourging our Lord. All

1 "Hic est enim sanguis meus novi testamenti, qui pro multis effundetur."

- Matt. 26.28.2 "Tradetur enim Gentibus, et illudetur, et flagellabitur." - Luke 18.32.

3 "Jubente lictore, seipsum vestibus exuit, columnam sponte amplectens

ligatur, et flagellis, non evellendo, sed sulcando, totum corpus laceratur."

- Rev. Bk. 4, ch. 70.4 "Ita ut costae viderentur." - Rev. Bk. 1, ch. 10.

5 "Sacratissimum corpus Dei flagella secuerunt." - In Matt. 27.6 "Usque ad defatigationem."

[258] this was already foretold by Isaiah in the words, He

was bruised for our iniquities,1 the word bruised signifying



the same as being broken to pieces, or as being pounded

in a mortar.

Behold me, O my Jesus! I am one of Your most cruel

executioners, who have scourged You with my sins;

have pity upon me. O my loving Savior! a heart is too

little with which to love You. I desire no longer to live

for myself, I desire to live only for You, my love, my

all. Wherefore I say to You, with St. Catherine of

Genoa, "O love! O love! let there be no more sins. It

is enough that I have already offended You so much!

now I hope to be entirely Yours, and with Your grace

I desire to be ever Yours through all eternity."

II. The Crowning with Thorns

Our heavenly Mother revealed to the same St. Bridget

that the crown of thorns surrounded the whole sacred

head of her Son, as far down as the middle of his fore-

head; and that the thorns were driven in with such vio-

lence that the blood gushed out in streams over all his

countenance, so that the whole face of Jesus Christ ap-

peared covered with blood.2

Origen writes that this crown of thorns was not taken

from the head of the Lord until he had expired upon

the cross.3 In the meantime, as the inner garment of

Christ was not sewed together, but woven all in one

1 "Attritus est propter scelera nostra." - Isa. 53. 5.

2 "Quae (corona) tam vehementer caput Filii mei pupugit, ut ex sanguineaffluente replerentur oculi ejus. - Ad medium frontis descendebat,

plurimis rivis sanguinis decurrentibus per faciem ejus, ut quasi nihil nisi

sanguis totum videretur." - Rev. Bk. 1, ch. 10; Bk. 4, ch. 70.

3 "Corona spinea, semel imposita, et nunquam detracta." - In Matt. tr. 35.

[259] piece, on this account it was not divided among the

soldiers, like his outer garments, but it was given by lot,

as St John writes: The soldiers, therefore, when they had

crucified Him, took His garments, and made four parts, to



every soldier a part, and also His coat. Now the coat was

without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said

then one to another: Let us not cut it; but let us cast lots for

it, whose it shall be.1 As this garment, then, must have been

drawn off over the head, many authors write, with great pro-

bability, that when Jesus was stripped of it, the crown of

thorns was taken from his head, and was replaced before

he was nailed to the cross.

In the book of Genesis it is written: Cursed is the earth in

your work; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you.2

This curse was inflicted by God upon Adam and upon all

his posterity; and by the earth here spoken of we must

understand, not only the material earth but the flesh of

man, which, being infected by the sin of Adam, bringsforth only the thorns of sin. In order to remedy this in-

fection, says Tertullian, it was necessary that Jesus Christ

should offer to God in sacrifice this great torment of the

crowning with thorns.

This torture also, besides being in itself most acute was

accompanied by blows and spitting, and by the mock-

ings of the soldiers, as St. Matthew and St. John relate:

And plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His

head and a reed in His right hand. And bowing the knee

before Him, they mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the

1. Milites ergo, cum crucifixissent eum, acceperunt vestimenta ejus (etfecerunt quatuor partes, unicuique militi partem), et tunicam; erat autem

tunica inconsutilis, desuper contexta per totum; dixerunt ergo ad invicem:

Non scindamus eam, sed sortiamur de illa cujus sit. - John 19.23, 24.2 "Maledicta terra in opere tuo . . .; spinas et tribulos germinabit tibi."

- Gen. 3.17.

3 "Hunc (Christum) enim oportebat pro omnibus gentibus fieri sacrificium."

- Adv. Judaos.

[260] Jews! And spitting upon Him, they took the reed,

and struck His head.1 And the soldiers plaiting a crown

of thorns, put it upon His head; and they put on Him a

purple garment. And they came to Him and said, Hail,

King of the Jews! and they kept striking Him.2





St. Basil, speaking of the passage in Isaiah, A child is born

to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon

His shoulder ,2 says "that earthly tyrants load their subjects

with unjust burdens, in order to increase their own power;

but Jesus Christ chose to take upon himself the burden of

the cross, and to carry it, in order to leave life for us in that

manner, that he might obtain salvation for us." He further

remarks that the kings of the earth found their sovereignties

in the force of arms and in the heaping-up of riches; but

Jesus Christ founded his sovereignty in the insults of the

cross - that is, in humbling himself and in suffering - and

on this account he willingly accepted it, and carried it on

that painful journey, in order, by his example, to give us

courage to embrace with resignation every cross, and thus

to follow him. Wherefore, also, he said to his disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take

up his cross and follow Me.3

It is useful here to note the beautiful expressions applied

to the cross by St. John Chrysostom:

He calls it 1) the hope of the despairing ;4 for what hope

of salvation would sinners have were it not for the cross

on which Jesus Christ died to save them?

1 "Si pectet impietas, grande ludibrium; si pietas, grande mysterium."

- In Jo. tr. 117.

2 "Factus est principatus super humerum ejus." - Isa. 9.6.3 "Si quis vult post me venire, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem

suam, et sequatur me." - Matt. 16.24.

4 "Spes Christianorum, desperatorum Via."

[262] 2) The guide of the voyager ;1 for the humiliation of

the cross (that is, of tribulation) is the cause which, in this

life that is like a sea of dangers, gives us grace to keep thedivine law, and to amend ourselves after our trangressions;

as the prophet says, It is good for me that You have hum-

bled me, that I might learn Your decrees.2

3) The counsellor of the just ;3 because in adversities the

just learn wisdom, and gain motives for uniting themselves





firmities, and especially by desolation of spirit, by dark-

ness and weariness, by scruples and temptations, and

by fears for their own salvation. Much heavier are the

crosses of sinners, through remorse of conscience,

through the terrors of eternal punishment, which from

time to time affright them, and through the pains they

suffer when things go wrong with them. The saints,

when adversities befall them, unite themselves with the

divine will, and suffer them with patience; but how can

the sinner calm himself by recollecting the divine will,

when he is living at enmity with God? The pains of the

enemies of God are unmixed pains, pains without relief.

Wherefore St. Teresa was accustomed to say "that he who

loves God embraces the cross, and thus does not feel it;

while he who does not love him drags the cross along byforce and thus cannot but feel it."

IV. The Crucifixion

It was revealed to St. Bridget that when the Savior

saw himself laid upon the cross, he stretched out his

right hand to the place where it was to be nailed.1 They

then immediately nailed the other hand, and then his

sacred feet; and Jesus Christ was left to die upon this

bed of anguish. St. Augustine says that the punishment

of the cross was a most bitter torment, because, upon

1 "Voluntarie extendit brachium, et, aperta sua dextera manu, posuiteam in cruce; quam tortores crucifixerunt." - Rev. Bk. 7, ch. 15.

[264] the cross, death itself was prolonged, lest the pain

should be speedily ended.1

O God! what horror must then have struck heaven,at the sight of the Son of the Eternal Father crucified

between two thieves! Such, in truth, was the prophecy

of Isaiah: He was reputed with the wicked.2 Therefore

St. John Chrysostom, contemplating Jesus upon the

cross, cried out, full of amazement and love, "I see him

in the midst, in the holy Trinity; I see him in the midst,



between Moses and Elijah; I see him in the midst, be-

tween two thieves."3 As though he had said, "I see

my Savior first in heaven between the Father and the

Holy Spirit; I see him upon the Mount Tabor, between

two saints, Moses and Elijah; how, then, can I see him

crucified upon Calvary between two thieves?" How

could this come to pass, but through the divine decree,

that thus he must die, to satisfy by his death for the

sins of men, and to save from death, as Isaiah had fore-

told: He was reputed with the wicked, and He has borne

the sins of many.4

The same prophet also asks, Who is this that comes from

Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra; this beautiful

one in His robe, walking in the greatness of His strength?5(Edom signifying a red color, though somewhat dark,

as is explained in Gen. 25.30); and he gives the

1 "Mors ipsa protendebatur, ne dolor citius finiretur." - In Jo. tr. 36.2 "Et cum sceleratis reputatus est." - Isa. 53.12.

3 "Medium in Sancta Triade, medium inter Moysen et Eliam, medium inter

Latrones!"

4 "Et cum sceleratis reputatus est, et ipse peccata multorum tulit." - Isa. 53.12.5 "Quis est iste qui venit de Edom, tinctis vestibus de Bosra? iste formosus in

stola sua, gradiens in multitudine fortitudinis suae." - Isa. 63.1.

[265] answer, I that speak justice, and am a defender to save.1

The person who thus replies is, according to the interpreters,

Jesus Christ, who says, I am the promised Messiah, who

have come to save men, by triumphing over their enemies.

Then, further, he is again asked, Why is Your apparel

red, and Your garments like theirs that tread in the wine-

press?2 And he answers, I have trodden the wine-press

alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with Me.3Tertullian, St. Cyprian, and St. Augustine explain the wine-

press to mean the Passion of Jesus Christ, in which his

garments - that is, his most holy flesh - was covered with

blood and wounds, according to what St. John wrote : He

was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and His

name is called the Word of God.4 St. Gregory, explaining



the expression I have trodden the wine-press alone, says,

"He trod the wine-press, and was himself trodden."5

He trod it, because Jesus Christ, by his Passion, over-

came the devil; he was trodden, because, in his Passion,

his body was bruised and broken, as the grapes are

broken in the wine-press, and, as Isaiah expresses it in

another text, The Lord was pleased to bruise Him in in-

firmity.6

And now behold this Lord, who was fairest among

men,7 appears on Calvary with his form so disfigured by

torments, that it struck horror into all who saw it. Yet this

deformity makes him seem more beautiful in the eyes

1 "Ego, qui loquor justitiam, et propugnator sum ad salvandum." - Isa. 63.1.2 "Quare ergo rubrum est vestimentum tuum, et vestimenta tua sicut

calcantium in torculari?" - Isa. 63.2.3 "Torcular calcavi solus, et de gentibus non est vir mecum." - Isa. 63.3.

4 "Et vestitus erat veste aspersa sanguine, et vocatur nomen ejus Verbum

Dei." - Apoc. (Rev.) 19.13.5 "Torcular in quo calcatus calcavit." - In Ez. hom. 13.

6 "Et voluit Dominus conterere eum in infirmitate." - Isa. 53.10.

7 "Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum." - Ps. 44.3.

[266] of souls that love him, because these wounds, these

marks of the scourging, this lacerated flesh, are all tokensand proofs of the love he bears them; upon which the poet

Petrucci beautifully sings, "O Lord, if You suffer scourg-

ings for us, to the souls that are bound to You, the more

deformed You are, the more fair do You appear."

St. Augustine adds, "He hung in deformity upon the

cross, but his deformity is our beauty."1 And truly so,

because this deformity of Jesus crucified was the cause

of the beauty of our souls, which, when they were de-formed, were washed with his divine blood, and became

fair and lovely, according to what St. John wrote, Who

are these that are clothed in white garments? These are

they who have come out of great tribulation and have

washed their garments, and made them white in the

blood of the Lamb.2 All the saints, as being children of



Adam (with the exception of the Blessed Virgin), were

at one time covered with a foul garment, and soiled with

Adam's sin and with their own; but being washed with the

blood of the Lamb, they became white and agreeable in

the sight of God.

Well, then, did You say, O my Jesus, that, when

You should be lifted up upon the cross, You would

draw everything to You;3 "and this he said, signify-

ing by what death he should die." Truly You have left

undone nothing to draw all hearts to You. Many are

the happy souls who, in seeing You crucified and

dying for love of them, have abandoned everything -

1 "Pendebat in cruce deformis, sed deformitas illius pulchritudonostra erat." - Serm. 27.

2 "Hi qui amicti sunt stolis albis, qui sunt? ... Hi sunt qui venerunt detribulatione magna, et laverunt stolas suas et dealbaverunt eas in

sanguine Agni." - Apoc. (Rev.) 7.13.

3 "Et ego, si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum."- John 12.32.

[267] possessions, dignities, country, and kindred, even

to the embracing of torments and death - in order to give

themselves entirely to You. Unhappy they who resist Your

graces, which You have gained for them with Your great

labors and sorrows. O my God, this will be their great

torment in hell, to think that they have lost a God who,

to draw them to love him, gave his life upon a cross, that

of their own choice they have perished, and that there

will be no remedy for their ruin through all eternity. O

my Redeemer, I have already deserved to fall into this

ruin, through the sins I have committed against You.

Alas, how often have I resisted Your grace, which sought

to draw me to You, and, in order to cleave to my owninclinations, have despised Your love, and turned my

back upon You! Oh that I had died before I had of-

fended You! Oh that I had ever loved You! I thank

You, O my love, that You have borne with me with so

much patience, and that, instead of abandoning me, as I

deserved, You have repeated Your calls, and increased



Your lights and Your loving impulses upon me. I will

sing the mercies of God forever.1 Oh, cease not, my Sav-

ior and my hope, to continue to draw me, and to multiply

Your graces upon me, that I may love You in heaven

with more fervor, remembering the many mercies that

You have shown me, after all the offences that I have

committed against You. I hope for all, through that pre-

cious blood which You have shed for me, and that bitter

death which You have endured for me.

O holy Virgin Mary, protect me; pray to Jesus for me.

V. Jesus upon the Cross

Jesus upon the cross was a spectacle which filled heavenand earth with amazement, at the sight of an Almighty

1 "Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo." - Ps. 88.2.

[268] God, the Lord of all, dying upon an infamous

cross, condemned as a criminal between two other

malefactors. It was a spectacle of justice, in display-

ing the Eternal Father, in order that his justice might be

satisfied; punishing the sins of men in the person of his

only-begotten Son, loved by him as himself. It was a

spectacle of mercy, displaying his innocent Son dying

a death so shameful and so bitter, in order to save his

creatures from the punishment that was due to them.

Especially was it a sight of love, in displaying a God who

offered and gave his life to redeem from death his slaves

and enemies.

It is this spectacle which ever was and ever will be the

dearest object of the contemplations of the saints, throughwhich they have counted it little to strip themselves of

all earthly pleasures and goods, and to embrace with de-

sire and joy both pain and death, in order to make some

return of gratitude to a God who died for love of them.

Comforted by the sight of Jesus derided upon the



cross, the saints have loved contempt more than worldly

people have loved all the honors of the world. At the

sight of Jesus naked and dying upon the cross, they

have sought to abandon all the good things of this earth.

At the sight of him all wounded upon the cross, while

the blood flowed forth from all his limbs, they have

learned to abhor sensual pleasures, and have sought to

afflict their flesh as much as they could, in order to ac-

company with their own sufferings the sufferings of the

Crucified. At the sight of the obedience and conform-

ity of will retained by Jesus Christ to the will of his

Father, they have labored to conquer all those appetites

which were not conformed to the divine pleasure; while

many, though occupied in works of piety, yet, knowing

that to be deprived of their own will was the sacrifice themost welcome to the heart of God which thev could offer

[269] have entered into some religious Order, to lead a life

of obedience, and subject their own will to that of others.

At the sight of the patience of Jesus Christ, in being wil-

ling to suffer so many pains and insults for the love of

us, they have received with satisfaction and joy injuries,

infirmities, persecutions, and the torments of tyrants. At

the sight of the love which Jesus Christ has shown to us

in sacrificing to God his life upon the cross for us, they

have sacrificed to Jesus Christ all they possessed - their

property, their pleasures, their honors, and their life.

How is it, then, so that many Christians, although they

know by faith that Jesus Christ died for love of them,

instead of devoting themselves entirely to love and serve

him, devote themselves to offend and despise him for the

sake of brief and miserable pleasures? From where comes

this ingratitude? It comes from their forgetfulness of

the Passion and death of Jesus Christ. And, O my God,what will be their remorse and shame at the day of

judgment, when the Lord shall reproach them with all

that he has done and suffered for them?

Let us not, then, cease, O devout souls, ever to keep

before our eyes Jesus crucified, and dying in the midst



of torments and insults through love of us. From the

Passion of Jesus Christ all the saints have drawn those

flames of love which made them forget all the good

things of this world, and even their own selves, to give

themselves up entirely to love and please this divine

Savior, who has so loved men that it seems as if he

could not have done more in order to be loved by them.

In a word, the cross, that is, the Passion of Jesus Christ,

is that which will gain for us the victory over all our

passions and all the temptations that hell will hold out

to us, in order to separate us from God. The cross is

the road and ladder by which we mount to heaven.

Happy he who embraces it during his life, and does not

[270] put it off till the hour of death. He that dies embrac-

ing the cross has a sure pledge of eternal life, which is promised to all those who follow Jesus Christ with their

cross.

O my crucified Jesus! to make Yourself loved by men

You have spared nothing; You have even given Your life

with a most painful death; how, then, can men who love

their families, their friends, and even animals from whom

they receive any token of affection, be so ungrateful to

You as to despise Your grace and Your love, for the sake

of miserable and vain delights! Oh, miserable that I am,

I am one of those ungrateful beings who, for things of no

worth, have renounced Your friendship, and have turned

my back upon You. I have deserved that You should

drive me from Your face, as I have often banished You

from my heart. But I know that You do not cease to

ask my heart of me : You shall love the Lord your God .1

Yes, O my Jesus, as You desire that I should love You

and offer me pardon, I renounce all creatures, and

henceforth I desire to love You alone, my Creator andmy Redeemer. You do deserve to be the only object

of my soul's love.

O Mary, Mother of God, and refuge of sinners, pray

for me; obtain for me the grace of loving God, and I

ask for nothing more.





his feet, there his pains increased. It maybe truly said,

that in those three hours of agony Jesus suffered as

many deaths as he passed moments upon the cross. O

innocent Lamb, who have suffered such things for me,

have mercy upon me! Lamb of God, Who takes away

the sins of the world, have mercy upon me!1

Yet these outward pains of the body were the least

bitter; the inward pains of the soul were far geater. His

blessed soul was all desolate, and deprived of every drop

of consolation and sensible relief; all was weariness,

sorrow, and afflictions. This he uttered in the words,

My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?2 Drowned

in this sea of inward and outward griefs, our Savior, so

worthy of our love, thought fit to end his life, as he hadforetold by the mouth of David : I have come into the

depths of the sea, and the storm has sunk Me.3

2. "If You be the Son of God, come down from the Cross."

Behold also, that, at the very time when he was thus in

agonies upon the cross, and was drawing near to death,

all they who stood near him, priests, scribes, elders, and

soldiers, wearied themselves in adding to his pain with

insults and mockeries. St. Matthew writes, They that

passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads.4

This was already prophesied by David, when he wrote,

1 "Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi! miserere mei."

2 "Deus meus! Deus meus! ut quid dereliquisti me?" - Matt. 27.46.

3 "Veni in altitudinem maris, et tempestas demersit me." - Ps. 68.3.4 "Praetereuntes autem blasphemabant eum, moventes capita sua."

- Matt. 27.39.

[273] in the person of Christ, All they that saw Me reviled Me, they spoke with their lips, and wagged their head.1

They who passed before him said, Ah, You that would

destroy the temple of God, and in three days rebuild it,

save Your own self; if You be the Son of God, come down

from the cross.2 You have boasted, they said, that You



would destroy the temple, and rebuild it in three days.

Yet Jesus had not said that he could destroy the mate-

rial temple, and raise it again in three days; but he had

said : Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it

up again.3 With these words he indeed intended to express

his own power; but he really (as Euthymius and others

explain it) spoke allegorically, foretelling that, through

the act of the Jews, his soul would be one day separated

from his body, but that in three days it would rise again.

They said, Save Yourself.4 O ungrateful men! If this

great Son of God, when he was made man, had chosen

to save himself, he would not voluntarily have chosen

death.

If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.5

yet, if Jesus had come down, he would not have accom-

plished our redemption by his death; we could not have

been delivered from eternal death. "He would not

come down," says St. Ambrose, "lest when he came

down, I should die."6 Theophylact writes that they who

said this spoke by the instigation of the devil, who

1 "Omnes videntes me deriserunt me, locuti sunt labiis et moverunt

caput." - Ps. 21.8.2 "Vah, qui destruis templum Dei, et in triduo illud reaedificas!"

- Matt. 27.40.

3 "Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud." - John 2.19.

4 "Salva temetipsum!"5 "Si Filius Dei es, descende de cruce." - Matt. 27.40.

6 "Noluit descendere, ne descenderet sibi, sed ut moreretur mihi."

- In Luc. 23.

[274] sought to hinder the salvation which was about to

be accomplished by Jesus by means of the cross.1 Andthen he adds that the Lord would not have mounted the

cross, if he had been willing to come down from it with-

out accomplishing our redemption.2 Also St. John Chrys-

ostom says that the Jews uttered this insult in order that

Jesus might die insulted as an impostor in the sight of all

men, and be proved unable to deliver himself from the



cross, after he had boasted that he was the Son of God.3

St. John Chrysostom also remarks that the Jews ignor-

antly said, If You be the Son of God, come down from

the cross; for if Jesus had come down from the cross be-

fore he had died, he would not have been that Son of God

who was promised, and who was to save us by his death.

On this account, says the saint, he did not come down

from the cross until he was dead, because he had come

for the very purpose of giving his life for our salvation.4

St. Athanasius makes the same remark, saying that our

Redeemer chose to be known as the true Son of God,

not by coming down from the cross, but by continuing

upon it till he was dead.5 And thus it was foretold by

the prophets that our Redeemer must be crucified anddie, as St. Paul wrote, Christ has redeemed us from the

curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is

written, that cursed is every one who hangs on a tree.6

1 "Diabolus incitabat illos ut dicerent : Descendat nunc de cruce -

quia cognoscebat quod salus per crucem fieret." - In Marc. 15.

2 "Si voluisset descendere, neque a principio ascendisset."

3 "Volebant enim ut tamquam seductor in conspectu omnium vitu- peratus decederet." - In Matt. hom. 88.

4 "Qui Filius Dei est, ideo non descendit de cruce; nam ideo venit,ut crucifigeretur pro nobis." - De Cruce et Latr. hom. 2.6 "Neque descendendo de cruce voluit Filius Dei agnosci, sed ex eo

quod in cruce permaneret." - Serm. de Pass, et Cr.

6 "Christus nos redemit de maledicto legis, factus pro nobis male-dictum; quia scriptum est: Maledictus omnis qui pendet in ligno." -

Gal. 3.13.

3. "He saved Others, Himself He cannot save."

[275] St. Matthew goes on to relate the other insults which

the Jews offered to Jesus Christ : He saved others, Him-

self He cannot save.1

Thus they treated him as an impostor, by referring to

the miracles which had been performed by him in the



restoration of the dead to life, and by treating him as

one who was unable to save his own life.

St. Leo replies to them, that this was not the proper

hour for Jesus to display his divine power; and that he

would not hinder the redemption of man in order to

confound their blasphemies.2

St. Gregory suggests another motive why Jesus would

not descend from the cross: "If he had then come down,

he would not have shown to us the virtue of patience."3

Truly could Jesus Christ deliver himself from the cross

and from these insults; yet this was not the time for

making a display of his power, but to teach us patience

in our toils, in order that we may fulfil the divine pleas-ure; and therefore Jesus would not deliver himself

from death before he had fulfilled his Father's will,

and in order that he might not deprive us of this great

example of patience. "Because he taught patience, he

laid aside his power,"4 says St. Augustine.

The patience which Jesus Christ exercised in enduring

1 "Alios salvos fecit, seipsum non potest salvum facere." - Matt. 27.42.

2 "Non vestrae caecitatis arbitrio, O stulti Scribae, ostendenda erat potentia Salvatoris; nec secundum preces blasphemantium linguarum,

humani generis redemptio debebat omitti." - De Pass. serm. 17.

3 "Si de cruce tunc descenderet, virtutem nobis patientiae non demon-

straret." - In Evang. hom. 21.4 "Quia patientiam docebat, ideo potentiam differebat." - In Jo. tr. 37.

[276] the shame of all the insults which were offered him

by the Jews obtained for us grace to endure with patience

and peace of mind all the humiliations and persecutions

of the world. Therefore St. Paul, speaking of the journeyof Jesus Christ to Calvary when he carried the cross thus

exhorts us to accompany him, Let us, therefore, go forth

to meet him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.1

The saints, when they received injuries, did not think of

avenging themselves, nor were they disturbed; they were

even comforted at seeing themselves despised, as Jesus



Christ was despised. Therefore let us not fear to em-

brace, for the love of Jesus Christ, all the insults that

were offered to him, since Jesus Christ has suffered so

many insults for love of us.

O my Redeemer, for the time past I have not done this.

For the future I desire to suffer everything for love of

You: give me strength to put my desires into action.

4. "If God loves him, let him deliver him now."

The Jews, not satisfied with the injuries and blasphemies

which they had offered to Jesus Christ reproached him

with the name of his Father, saying, He trusted in God,

let Him now deliver Him, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God.2 This sacrilegious expression

of the Jews was already foretold by David when he said

in the name of Christ, All they that saw Me derided Me;

they spoke with their lips, and shook their head saying,

He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save

Him; for He desires Him.3 These very men who thus

1 "Exeamus igitur ad eum extra castra, improperium ejus portantes.

- Heb. 13.13.

2 "Confidit in Deo; liberet nunc si vult eum; dixit enim: Quia Filius Deisum." - Matt. 27.43.

3 "Speravit in Domino, eripiat eum : salvum faciat eum, quoniam vult

eum. - Ps. 21.9.

[277] spoke were called bulls, dogs, and lions, by David in

the same Psalm: Fat bulls encompassed me. Many dogs

surrounded me. Save me from the mouth of the lion.1 Thus,

when the Jews said, Let Him now deliver Him, if He will

have Him,2 they truly showed that they were these bulls,

dogs, and lions which had been foretold by David.

These very same blasphemies, which were one day to be

spoken against the Savior and against God, were already

foretold by the Wise Man with even more exactness: He

declares that He has the knowledge of God, and calls

Himself the Son of God, and He glories that He has God





had delivered him from death, the sacrifice would have

been imperfect, and then the Father would have been

deprived of that glory, while men would have been de-

prived of their salvation.

Tertullian writes that all the insults that were offered

to Jesus Christ were a secret remedy for our pride; for

these injuries, which were unjust, and unworthy of him

were nevertheless necessary to our salvation,2 and worthy

of a God who chose to suffer so much in order to save

man. And then, speaking of the reproaches laid against

Jesus, he adds: "Of him they were unworthy, but to us

they were necessary, and therefore they were worthy of

God, because nothing is so worthy of God as the salva-

tion of man."3

Let us, therefore, who boast that we are disciples of

Jesus Christ, be ashamed of angrily resenting the in-

1 "Animam meam pono pro ovibus meis. . . . Propterea me diligit Pater,

quia ego pono animam meam." - John 10.15, 17.

2 "Totum denique Dei mei penes vos dedecus, sacramentum est humanae

salutis."3 "Sibi quidem indigna, homini autem necessaria: et ita jam Deo digna,

quia nihil tam dignum Deo, quam salus hominis." - Adv. Marc. Bk. 2.

[279] juries which we receive from men, because a God-

made-man suffered the same for our salvation with so much

patience. And let us not be ashamed of imitating Jesus

Christ in pardoning those who offend us, as he himself

declares that in the day of judgment he will be ashamed

of those who in this life have been ashamed of him.1

O my Jesus! how can I grieve for any insults that I

may receive, who have so often deserved to be troddenunder foot by the devils in hell! Oh, by the merits of

all the insults which You did suffer in Your Passion,

give me grace to suffer with patience all the insults

which may be offered to me, through love of You, who

have embraced so many for love of me. I love You

above all things, and desire to suffer for You, who





don to your brother who has offended you!

St. Leo writes 7 that it was through this prayer of

Christ so that many thousands of Jews were converted

1 "Illis petebat veniam a quibus adhuc accipiebat injuriam non

enim attendebat, quod ab ipsis moriebatur, sed quia pro ipsis morie-

batur." - In Jo. tr. 31.2 "Non quia non posset ipse relaxare, sed ut nos pro persequentibus

orare doceret."

3 "Mira res! ille clamabat: Ignosce!- Judai : Crucifige" - S. de Pass. Dom.

4 "Cum ipse ad hoc nitatur ut salventur, Judai ad hoc ut damnentur. Plusdebet apud Deum posse Filii charitas, quam populi caecitas." - De 7 Verbis.

5 "Vivificatur Christi sanguine, etiam qui fudit sanguinem Christi." - De

Bono pat. 6 Serm. 49.

7 "Impetravi! quod petierat Christus, multaque statim de Judaeis millia

crediderunt." - Ad Hedib. q. 8.

[281] at the preaching of St. Paul, as we read in the Acts

of the Apostles; while (says St. Jerome) God did not will

that the prayer of Jesus Christ should continue without

effect, and therefore at that very time he caused many

of the Jews to embrace the faith. But why were they not

all converted? I reply that the prayer of Jesus Christ was

conditional, and that they who were converted were notof the number of those of whom it was said, You have

resisted the Holy Spirit.1

In this prayer Jesus Christ further included all sinners;

so that we all may say to God:

O Eternal Father, hear the prayer of Your beloved Son,

who prayed to You to pardon us. We deserve not this

pardon, but Jesus Christ has merited it, who by his

death has more than abundantly satisfied for our sins. No, my God, I will not be obstinate like the Jews; I

repent, O my Father, with all my heart, for having of-

fended You, and through the merits of Jesus Christ I

ask for pardon. And You, O my Jesus, You do know

that I am poor and sick, and lost through my sins; but

You have come from heaven on purpose to heal the





would enter into his glorious kingdom. He believed,

says St. Gregory, that he whom he saw dying was about

to reign.3

He exercised penitence together with the confession of

his sins, saying, We indeed justly; for we received the due

reward of our deeds. St. Augustine observes that before

1 "Si tu es Christus, salvum fac temetipsum et nos... Et nos quidem

juste, nam digna factis recipimus; hic vero nihil mali gessit... Domine,

memento mei, cum veneris in regnum tuum... Amen dico tibi :Hodie mecum eris in paradiso." - Luke 23.39-43.

2 "Ibi credit, timet, compungitur et poenitet, confitetur et praedicat,

amat, confidit, orat." - De 7 Verbis.

3 "Regnaturum credidit, quem morientem vidit." - Mor. 1. 18, ch. 25.

[283] his confession he had not boldness to hope for par-

don; he did not dare to say Remember me, until, by the

confession of his guilt, he had thrown off the burden of

his sins.1 On this St. Athanasius exclaims, O blessed thief,

you have stolen a kingdom by that confession!2

This holy penitent also exercised other noble virtues;

he preached, declaring the innocence of Jesus Christ,

This man has done no evil. He exercised love to God,

receiving death with resignation, as the punishment due

to his sins, saying, We receive the due reward of our deeds.

Hence St. Cyprian, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine do not

scruple to call him a martyr; and Silveira says 3 that this

happy thief was a true martyr, as the executioners broke

his legs with increased fury, because he had declared the

innocence of Jesus; and that the saint willingly accepted

this torment for the love of his Lord.

Let us also in this circumstance remark the goodnessof God, who always gives us more than we ask for, as

St. Ambrose says, "The Lord always grants more than

we ask; the thief prayed that Jesus would remember

him, and Jesus said, Today you shall be with Me in para-

dise.4 St. John Chrysostom further remarks that no one

merited the possession of paradise before this thief.5



Thus is confirmed what God said by Ezekiel that, when

the sinner heartily repents of his sins, God pardons him

in the same way as if he had forgotten all the sins

1 "Non est ausus ante dicere, 'Memento mei,' quam, post confesionem

iniquitatis, sarcinam peccatorum deponeret." - Serm. 155.2 "O beatum latronem! rapuisti regnum ista confessione." - Serm.

contra omn. haer.

3 Lib. 8, ch. 16, q. 12.4 "Semper plus Dominus tribuit, quam rogatur. Ille rogabat ut memor sui

esset: Dominus autem ait, 'Hodie mecum eris in paradiso.' " - In Luc. 23.

5 "Nullum ante Latronem invenies repromissionem paradisi meruisse."

[284] he had committed.1 And Isaiah gives us to under-

stand that God is so urgent for our good, that when we

pray he instantly hears us.2 St. Augustine says that Godis ever prepared to embrace penitent sinners.3

And thus it was that the cross of the wicked thief,

being endured with impatience, became to him a preci-

pice leading to hell; while the cross endured with pa-

tience by the good thief became to him a ladder to par-

adise. Happy were you, O holy thief, who had the

fortune to unite your death to the death of your Savior.

my Jesus! henceforth I sacrifice to You my life, andI seek for grace to enable me, at the hour of my death,

to unite the sacrifice of my life to that which You did

offer to God upon the cross, and through which I hope

to die in Your grace, and, loving You with pure love

stripped of every earthly affection, to attain to love You

with all my powers through all eternity.

3. "Woman, behold your son. . . . Behold your mother."4

We read in St. Mark that on Calvary there were pres-

ent many women, who watched Jesus on the cross, but

from afar off, among whom was Mary Magdalen.5 We

believe, also, that among these holy women was also the

holy mother Mary; while St. John says that the Blessed

Virgin stood, not afar off, but close to the cross, together





2 "Tunc Dei Mater propinquius cruci astitit, quam caeterae mulieres,

Judaeorum vincens timorem." - In Matt. ch. 67.

3 "Plane Mater, quae nec in terrore mortis Filium deserebat." - In Ass. B. M. Serm. 4.

4 "Stantem lego, flentem non lego." - Or. de ob. Val.

[286] The pain which the Holy Virgin endured in the Pas-

sion of her Son exceeded all the pains which a human

heart can endure; but the grief of Mary was not a bar-

ren grief, like that of other mothers who behold the

sufferings of their children; it was a fruitful grief, sjnce

through the merits of her so great grief, and through

her love (according to the opinion of St. Augustine), as

she was the natural mother of our head Jesus Christ,1

so she then became the spiritual mother of us who are

his faithful members, in cooperating with him by her love in causing us to be born, and to be the children of

the Church.

St. Bernard writes that upon Mount Calvary both of

these two great martyrs, Jesus and Mary, were silent,

because the great pain that they endured took from

them the power of speaking.2 The mother looked upon

her Son in agony upon the cross, torn with compassion

for the pains he suffered, and the Son looked upon themother in agony at the foot of the cross.

Mary and John then stood nearer to the cross than the

other women, so that they could more easily hear the

words and mark the looks of Jesus Christ in so great a

tumult. St. John writes: When Jesus then saw His mother

and the disciple standing, whom He loved, he said to His

mother: Woman, behold your son.3 But if Mary and John

were accompanied by other women, why is it said that

Jesus beheld his mother and the disciple, as if the other

women had not been perceived by him? St. John Chrys-

ostom writes that love always makes us look more

1 "Plane mater membrorum ejus, quod nos sumus; quia cooperata

est charitate ut fideles in Ecclesia nascerentur, qui illius Capitismembra sunt." - De S. Virg. ch. 6.





presso per ciliorum compressionem." - Rev. Bk. 4, ch. 70.

4 "Cui Matrem Virginem virgini commendavit." - Off. de S. Jo.

5 "Et ex illa hora accepit eam Discipulus in sua." - John 19.27.

[288] Gospel, and might say, He that saw it has borne wit-

ness;1 and in his Epistle, What we have seen with our eyes,that we both testify and make known to you.2 And on this

account the Lord, at the time when the other disciples aban-

doned him, gave to St. John strength to be present until

his death in the midst of so many enemies.

But let us return to the holy Virgin, and examine more

deeply the reason why Jesus called Mary woman, and not

mother . By this expression he desired to show that she

was the great woman foretold in the Book of Genesis,who would crush the serpent's head: I will put enmities

between you and the woman, and your seed and her seed:

she shall crush your head, and you shall lie in wait for her

heel.3 It is doubted by none that this woman was the Blessed

Virgin Mary, who, by means of her Son, would crush the

head of Satan - if it be not more correct to say that her

Son, by means of her who would bear him, would do this.

Naturally was Mary the enemy of the serpent, because

Lucifer was haughty, ungrateful, and disobedient, while

she was humble, grateful, and obedient. It is said, She shall crush your head , because Mary, by means of her

Son, beat down the pride of Lucifer, who lay in wait

for the heel of Jesus Christ, which means his holy

humanity, which was the part of him which was nearest

to the earth; while the Savior by his death had the

glory of conquering him, and of depriving him of that

empire which, through sin, he had obtained over the

human race.

God said to the serpent, I will put enmities between your

seed and the woman. This shows that after the fall of man,

through sin, notwithstanding all that would be done

1 "Qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit." - John 19.35.

2 "Quod vidimus oculis nostris . . . , testamur et annuntiamus." - 1 John 1.1.3 "Inimicitias ponam inter te et Mulierem, et semen tuum et semen illius :



ipsa conteret caput tuum, et tu insidiaberis calcaneo ejus." - Gen. 3.15.

[289] by the redemption of Jesus Christ, there would

be two families and two posterities in the world, the

seed of Satan signifying the family of sinners, his

children corrupted by him, and the seed of Mary signi-

fying the holy family, which includes all the just, with

their head Jesus Christ. Hence Mary was destined to

be the mother both of the head and of the members,

namely, the faithful. The Apostle writes: You are all one

in Christ Jesus; and if you are Christ's, then you are the

seed of Abraham.1 Thus, Jesus Christ and the faithful are

one single body, because the head cannot be divided from

the members, and these membors are all spiritual children

of Mary, as they have the same spirit of her Son accor-ding to nature, who was Jesus Christ. Therefore, St.

John was not called John but the disciple beloved by the

Lord, that we might understand that Mary is the mother

of every good Christian who is beloved by Jesus Christ,

and in whom Jesus Christ lives by his Spirit. This was

expressed by Origen, when he said, "Jesus said to Mary,

Behold your son, as if he had said, This is Jesus, whom

you have borne, for he who is perfected lives no more

himself, but Christ lives in him."2

Denis the Carthusian writes that in the Passion of Jesus

Christ the breast of Mary was filled with the blood which

flowed from his wounds, in order that with it she might

nourish her children. And he adds that the Mother of God

by her prayers and merits, which she especially acquired

by sharing in the death of Jesus Christ, obtained for us a

participation in the merits of the Passion of the Redeemer.3

1 "Omnes enim vos unum estis in Christo Jesu; si autem vosChristi, ergo semen Abrahae estis." - Gal. 3.28.

2 "Dixitque Jesus Matri : 'Ecce filius tuus;' perinde ac si dixisset :

Ecce hic Jesus quem genuisti. - Etenim, qui perfectus est, non ampliusvivit ipse, sed in ipso vivit Christus."

3 "Promeruit ut, per preces ejus ac merita, meritum passionis

Christi communicetur hominibus." - De Laud. V. M. Bk. 2, a. 23.





therefore Silveira remarks that Jesus called his Father

God, and not Father, because he was then regarding

him as a Judge, and not as a son regards his father.1

St. Leo writes that this cry of the Lord was not a

lamentation, but a doctrine,2 because he thus desired to

teach us how great is the wickedness of sin, which, as

it were, compelled God to abandon his beloved Son with-

out a comfort, because he had taken upon him to make

satisfaction for our sins. At the same time, Jesus was

not abandoned by the divinity, nor deprived of the glory

which had been communicated to his blessed soul from

the first moment of his creation; but he was deprived

of all that sensible relief by which God oftentimes com-

forts his faithful servants in their sufferings; and he wasleft in darkness, fear, and bitterness, pangs which were

deserved by us. This deprivation of the sensible con-

sciousness of the divine presence was also endured by

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani; but that which he

suffered on the cross was greater and more bitter.

Eternal Father, what offence had this Your innocent

and most obedient Son ever given You, that You

should punish him with a death so bitter? Look at

him as he hangs upon this cross, with his head tortured

with thorns, as he hangs upon the three iron nails, and

is supported by his own wounds! All have abandoned

him, even his own disciples, all deride him upon the

cross, and blaspheme him; and why have You abandoned

him, who have so greatly loved him? We must under-

1 "Jesus, pendens in cruce, erat satisfaciens de toto rigore justitiae suo

Parenti, tamquam Judici, pro peccatis generis humani." - Lib. 8, ch. 18,

q. 3.2 "Vox ista doctrina est, non querela." - De Pass. serm. 16.

[292] stand that Jesus had taken upon himself the sins

of the world, although he was himself the most holy of

all men, and even sanctity itself; since he had taken

upon himself to satisfy for all our sins, he seemed the



greatest of all sinners; and having thus made himself

guilty for all, he offered himself to pay the price for all.

Because we had deserved to be abandoned forever in

hell to eternal despair, therefore he chose to be given up

to a death deprived of every relief, that thus he might

deliver us from eternal death.

Calvin, in his commentary on St. John blasphemously

asserts that Jesus Christ, in order to appease his Father,

experienced all the wrath which God feels towards sin-

ners, and felt all the pains of the damned, and partic-

ularly that of despair. O blasphemy and shocking

thought! How could he satisfy for our sins by com-

mitting a sin so great as that of despair? And how

could this despair, which Calvin imagines, be reconciledwith the other words which Jesus uttered, Father, into

Your hands I commend My spirit ?1 The truth is, as St.

Jerome and others explain it, that our Savior uttered

this lamentation to show not his own despair, but the

bitterness which he endured in a death without consola-

tion. And, further, despair could only have been pro-

duced in Jesus Christ by a knowledge that he was hated

by God; but how could God hate that Son who, to obey

his will, had offered himself to satisfy for the sins of

men? It was this very obedience in return for which

the Father looked upon him, and granted him the salva-

tion of the human race, as the Apostle writes, Who in

the days of His flesh, offering with loud crying and

tears, prayers and supplications to Him who could

save Him from death, was heard because of His

reverence.2

1 "Pater, in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum." - Luke 23.46

2 "Qui in diebus carnis suae, preces supplicationesque ad eum, qui possit illum salvum facere a morte, cum clamore valido et lacrymis

offerens, exauditus est pro sua reverenda." - Heb. 5.7.

[293] Further, this abandonment of Jesus Christ was the

most dreadful suffering in all his Passion; for we know

that after suffering so many bitter pangs without com-



plaining, he lamented over this; he cried with a loud

voice, and with many tears and prayers, as St. Paul tells

us. Yet all these prayers and tears were poured forth

in order to teach us how much he suffered to obtain the

divine mercy for us; and to enable us at the same time

to comprehend how dreadful a punishment it would be

to a guilty soul to be driven from God, and to be de-

prived forever of his love, according to the divine threat,

I will cast them forth form My house, I will no more love

them.1

St. Augustine also says that Jesus Christ was agitated

at the sight of his death, but that he was so for the com-

fort of his servants; in order that if ever they should find

themselves disturbed at their own death, they should notsuppose themselves reprobates, or abandon themselves

to despair, because even he was disturbed at the sight

of death.2

Therefore, let us give thanks to the goodness of our

Savior for having been willing to take upon himself

the pains which were due to us, and thus to deliver us

from eternal death; and let us labor henceforth to be

grateful to this our deliverer, banishing from our hearts

every affection which is not for him. And when we find

ourselves desolate in spirit, and deprived of the sense of

the divine presence, let us unite our desolation to that

which Jesus Christ suffered in his death. Sometimes he

hides himself from the souls that he most loves, but he

does not really leave their hearts; he aids them with his

1 "De domo mea ejiciam eos; non addam ut diligam eos." - Osee (Hosea)

9.15.

2 "Si imminente morte turbaris, non te existimes reprobum, necdesperationi te abjicias; ideo enim Christus turbatus est in conspectu

mortis suae."

[294] inward grace. He is not offended, if in such an aban-

donment we say, as he himself said in the garden to his

divine Father, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup

pass from Me.1 But at the same time we must add, Yet,



not as I will, but as You will.2 And if the desolation con-

tinues, we must continue the same acts of conformity to

the divine will, as he himself repeated them for the

three hours during which he prayed in the garden.3 St.

Francis de Sales says that Jesus is as worthy of love

when he hides himself as when he makes himself seen.

Further, he who has deserved hell, and finds himself out

of it, should say only, I will bless the Lord at all times.4

O Lord, I do not deserve consolations; grant that

through Your grace I may love You, and I am content

to live in desolation as long as it pleases You. If the

damned could thus in their pains unite themselves to

the divine will, hell would be no longer hell to them.

But You, O Lord, remove not Your help away from Me; look towards my defence.5 O my Jesus, through

the merits of Your desolate death, deprive me not of

Your help in that great struggle which, in the hour of

my death, I must maintain with hell. At that hour all

things of earth will have deserted me and cannot help

me; do not You abandon me, who have died for me,

and can alone help me in that extremity. Do this through

the merits of those pains which You did suffer in Your

abandonment, by which You have merited for us that

we should not be abandoned by the divine grace, as we

have deserved through our sins.

1 "Pater mi! si possibile est, transeat a me calix iste." - Matt. 26.39.2 "Verumtamen, non sicut ego volo, sed sicut tu." - Ibid.

3 "Et oravit tertio, eundem sermonem dicens." - Matt. 26.44.

4 "Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore." - Ps. 33.2.5 "Tu autem, Domine, ne elongaveris auxilium tuum a me; ad defens-

ionem meam conspice." - Ps. 21.20.

5. "I thirst."1

[295] St. John writes, Jesus then, knowing that all things

were accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,

said: I thirst.2 Scripture here refers to the words of David,

They gave Me gall to eat, and in My thirst they gave Me

vinegar to drink.3



Severe was this bodily thirst, which Jesus Christ endured

on the cross through his loss of blood, first in the garden,

and afterwards in the hall of judgment, at his scourging and

crowning with thorns; and, lastly, upon the cross, where

four streams of blood gushed forth from the wounds of

his pierced hands and feet as from four fountains. But far

more terrible was his spiritual thirst, that is, his ardent desire

to save all mankind, and to suffer still more for us, as Blosius

says, in order to show us his love.4 On this St. Laurence

Justinian writes: "This thirst came from the fount of love."3

O my Jesus! You have thus desired to suffer for me;

and I, when my sufferings at all increase, become so

impatient that I am insupportable both to others and tomyself. O my Jesus! through the merits of Your patience,

make me patient and resigned in the sicknesses and cros-

ses which befall me; make me like Yourself before I die.

1 "Sitio." John 19.28.

2 "Postea, sciens Jesus quia omnia consummata sunt, ut consummaretur

Scriptura, dixit: Sitio." - John 19.28.

3 "Et dederunt in escam meam fel, et in siti mea potaverunt meaceto." - Ps. 68.22.

4 "Habuit et aliam sitim, puta, amplius patiendi atque evidentiussuum nobis demonstrandi amorem." - Marg. sp. Pt. 3, ch. 18.5 "Sitis haec de ardore nascitur charitatis." - De Tr. Chr. Ag. ch. 10.

[296]

6. "It is finished."1

St. John writes, Jesus, therefore, when He had taken

the vinegar said, It is finished!1 At this moment Jesus,

before breathing out his soul, placed before his eyes all

the sacrifices of the old law (which were all figures of the sacrifice upon the cross), all the prayers of the patri-

archs, and all the prophecies which had been uttered

respecting his life and his death, all the injuries and

insults which it was predicted that he would suffer; and,

seeing that all was accomplished, he said, It is finished.





he has given his own life, and all his blood; let us, then,

be ashamed to treat him with any reserve.

Let us oppose to our enemies all the resistance that

we are bound to make, and hope for victory from the

merits of Jesus Christ alone, by means of which alone

the saints, and especially the holy martyrs, have over-

come torments and death : In all things we overcome,

through Him who loved us.3 Therefore, when the devil

paints to our thoughts any obstacles which, through our

weakness, seem extremely difficult to overcome, let us

turn our eyes to Jesus crucified, and, entirely trusting in

his help and merits, let us say, with the Apostle, I can do

all things through Him that strengthens me.4 By myself

1 "Qui autem perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit." - Matt. 10.22.

2 "Recogitate enim eum. . . . Nondum enim usque ad sanguinem restitistis,adversus peccatum repugnantes." - Heb. 12.3, 4.

3 "In his omnibus superamus propter eum, qui dilexit nos." - Rom. 8.37.

4 "Omnia possum in eo qui me confortat." - Phil. 4.13.

[298] I can do nothing, but by the help of Jesus I can do

everything.

Thus let us encourage ourselves to endure the tribula-tions of the present life, by the sight of the pains of

Jesus on the cross. Behold, says the Lord from this

cross - behold the multitude of the pains and the wrongs

which I suffer for you upon this tree. My body hangs

by three nails, and rests alone upon my very wounds.

The people who surround me blaspheme me and afflict

me, and my spirit within me is more afflicted than my

body. I suffer all for love of you; behold the affection

I bear you, and love me; and be not wearied at suffer-

ing anything for me, who, for you, have lived a life so

afflicted, and now am dying so bitter a death.

O my Jesus! You have placed me in the world that I

might serve You and love You; You have given me

so many lights and graces that I might be faithful to





be where I am, and that they should be with me.5

This made St. Paul say, I know in whom I have believed,

and I am sure that he is able to keep that which I have

committed to him until that day.6 Thus the Apostle wrote,

1 "Clamavit voce magna, ut omnes scirent quod Patrem Deum

appellaret." - In Matt. ch. 67.2 "Ut ostenderet haec sua potestate fieri." - In Matt. hom. 89.

3 "Et animam meam pono pro ovibus meis. . . . Nemo tollit eam

a me, sed ego pono eam a meipso." - John 10.15.

4 "In eo homines apud Patrem commendat per ipsum vivificandos;membra enim sumus, et membra unum corpus sunt. . . . Omnes

ergo in se Deo commendat."

5 "Pater sancte! serva eos in nomine tuo quos dedisti mihi, ut sint unum

sicut et nos. Volo ut, ubi sum ego, et illi sint mecum." - John 17.11,24.6 "Scio enim cui credidi, et certus sum quia potens est depositum

meum servare in illum diem." - 2 Tim. 1.12.

[300] while he was in prison, suffering for Jesus Christ,

into whose hands he committed the deposit of his suf-

ferings and of all his hopes, knowing how grateful and

faithful he is to those who suffer for his love.

David placed all his hope in the future Redeemer when

he said, Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit, for You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.1 And

how much more ought not we to trust in Jesus Christ,

who has now completed our redemption? Let us say

with great courage, You have redeemed me, O Lord; into

Your hands I commend my spirit. Father, into Your hands

I commend my spirit. Great comfort do these words bring

to the dying at the moment of death, against the temp-

tations of hell, and their fears on account of their sins.

But, O Jesus, my Redeemer! I would not wait for

death to recommend my soul to You; I commend it to

You now; permit me not to turn my back upon You

again. I see that my past life has only served to dishonor

You; permit me not to continue to displease You for my

days that yet remain. O Lamb of God, sacrificed upon



the cross, and dead for me as a victim of love, and con-

sumed by all griefs, grant by the merits of Your death

that I may love You with all my heart, and be entirely

Yours while life remains. And when I shall reach the

end of my days, grant me to die glowing with love for

You. You have died through love of me : I would die

for love of You. You have given Yourself entirely to me;

I give myself entirely to You : Into Your hands, O Lord,

I commend my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord

God of truth. You have poured forth all Your blood;

You have given Your life to save me; permit not that

through my fault all should be lost to me. O my Jesus,

I love You, and I hope through Your merits that

1 "In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum; redemisti me,Domine Deus veritatis." - Ps. 30.6.

[301] I shall love You forever. In You, O Lord, I have

hoped; I shall not be confounded forever.1

O Mary, mother of God, I trust in your prayers; pray

that I may live and die faithful to your Son. To you I

would say, with St. Bonaventure, "In you, O Lady, I

have hoped; I shall not be confounded forever."

1 "In te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in aeternum." - Ps. 30.2.

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